Defense specialization and third floor, five.

The sun shifts. Maple and Sally arrive at the third floor once more. Their skills have recovered, and preparations are complete.

"Alright, today we take down the boss!"

"Uh-hunh. That's right. The enemies here are troublesome... though we don't know what lies ahead."

They do not go searching for 【Everfrost】 again. Instead, they proceed directly to the area where lava erupts.

Before them, lava spills as it did before.

"Then, let's try it. Probably meant for this place."

Sally uses 【Everfrost】. A blizzard sweeps beneath her feet, turning the lava black and hardening it, then sealing it over with ice.

In an instant, the ground overflowing with lava transforms into a frozen plain.

"Wha—... it's harder than expected, but hurry, Maple! If it melts, it'll be a mess."

"Ah, yeah! You're right!"

Maple moves as if it were natural, nestled between the floating shield.

The shield’s movement is no faster than walking. Halfway through, molten rock bursts upward through the frozen ground.

"Maple, go! Get down! Get down!"

"Ah, yeah! Got it!"

Maple slips out through the shield’s gap. She is pulled along by a thread tied to Sally, dragged across the lava field.

But as she does, a fire column reawakens, stretching up to the ceiling.

"Uu… m-m, Love That Offers the Body!"

Maple hesitates, then activates Love That Offers the Body to shield Sally.

She braces, eyes shut, curling inward to prepare for impact. No pain comes. Instead, a sensation of floating arrives.

"Then I can get through before it erupts!"

……? O-oh!

The skill 【Step into the Underworld】, attached to the boots Maple had acquired on the sixth floor and given to Sally.

Thanks to it, Sally created multiple platforms in midair and fled upward, literally leaping into safety.

"Thanks to Maple, no fall damage. Good."

"Thank you, Sally! Phew… I made it without burning."

Maple murmured, glancing back at the still-bright lava glowing behind her.

The two moved forward without pause. No obstacles. No delays. The door to the Boss Room appeared.

"O-oh, it really is here."

"Exactly as expected."

"There are still unexplored paths, but we’ve used ice too…"

"Yeah, let’s go! I’m ready."

Seeing Maple rotate her arms in a circle, Sally nodded. Then she opened the door.

Inside, the two found a vast hall where the ground was split by flowing lava, forming stepping stones that restricted movement.

"Ugh... I'm floating..."

Maple spoke, then slowly rose into the air, held between two shields.

A difficult field for Sally as well.

"It's tough for me too... but the boss is coming!"

As the two remained alert, the ground trembled. At the far end, the lava pool surged upward, shaping itself into a massive form.

A giant emerged, forged entirely of blazing lava.

"Sally! Sally! He looks really strong...!"

"We should've saved ice... But we have no choice. Maple, if he uses a lava technique, use it!"

"Leave it to me! I'm watching from above!"

Maple rose higher, still held between the shields.

Lava-type enemies inflict fixed damage on Maple, making the use of Love That Offers the Body difficult.

"【Ice Spike】... Not usable. Okay."

Sally confirmed she could not use 【Ice Spike】, then shifted nimbly through safe zones, closing the distance.

"【Ancient Sea】!"

As she moved, fish composed of floating blue light appeared around Sally, summoned by the skill acquired during the second event.

"【Water Ball】!"

Sally attempted an elemental attack, as she had with the weaker foes earlier.

The giant moved slowly. Water magic, and the water that lowered 【AGI】 spread by the fish, struck with ease.

"Every time it moves, the ground... ah, damn it!"

With each step the giant took, advancing like a creature crawling on the earth, the ground beneath vanished into lava.

After a moment, the next platform appears. The timing to leap is precise.

Amidst this, the giant raises an arm of molten rock and swings it toward Sally.

……!

Sally conjures a platform midair and forces herself to evade.

Yet flames erupt radially from the impact point, pursuing Sally.

I saw it coming, so no way!

At the instant the flame column strikes Sally, Maple descends.

Maple slides between Sally and the flame column, standing atop two floating shields, her obsidian shield held firmly angled downward, bracing against the inferno.

Sally, emergency evasion! Emergency evasion!

Y-yes, thank you.

Sally leaps onto Maple’s shield. Maple ascends smoothly, like an elevator.

“Whoa, it’s raging down there.”

Maple looks down. The ground shifts and writhes, limbs striking the earth and summoning columns of flame.

“Seems the flames can’t reach us. Let’s hold a strategy meeting for now.”

“Then since the footing’s unstable, I’ll call Shiroppu!”

Maple summons Shiroppu, enlarges it, and carefully transfers herself from the large shield to its surface, securing her position.

“Enemies with poor aerial defense are easier to plan against… though not ordinary.”

“Come, come, this way.”

“Hm, then I’ll be going.”

Thus, the two begin a relaxed strategy meeting atop the burning field.